The invention relates to a floor-mopping device having a handle which is connected to a supporting body having at least one flexible mopping element suspended from it in pendulum fashion.
A floor-mopping device of this kind is described in the German utility model patent 29 701 349. It is used for the wet cleaning of floors, and for this purpose is moved over the surface to be cleaned in a zigzag or loop-shaped path. In the process, the flexible mopping elements always point to the rear, making it necessary to set the entire floor-mopping device into a slewing motion each time a vertex (i.e., the point of maximum excursion)of the zigzag path is reached to prevent the mopping elements from snarling.
The object of the present invention is to further develop a floor-mopping device of the type indicated at the outset in such a way that, when cleaning a floor surface in a back and forth zigzag movement, it is no longer necessary to set the entire floor-mopping device into a slewing motion each time a vertex is reached.
This objective is achieved according to the present invention in a floor-mopping device of the type having a handle that is connected to a supporting body having at least one flexible mopping element suspended from it in pendulum fashion.
In the floor-mopping device according to the present invention, the supporting body is rotatable about an axis extending in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the handle, and means are provided to suppress canting of the supporting body relative to the handle. As a result, the handle of the floor-mopping device can be grasped firmly by both hands, with optimum body posture, and moved over a surface to be cleaned in a zigzag or looped path without requiring the position of the hand or the posture to change at the vertices of this movement. Nevertheless, the flexible mopping elements suspended from the supporting body in pendulum fashion always show to the rear, thus being continually available for achieving optimum cleaning results, while avoiding the formation of snarls. This is a great advantage for the user of the floor-mopping device. Since at no time during use is it necessary to change the hand or bodily position in an ergonomically unfavorable manner, there is a saving of effort.
The means for suppressing canting of the supporting body can be formed by a columnar or conical guideway. In the simplest case, they can be formed by a sleeve, fixed to the supporting body, into which the cylindrical shaft of the handle is inserted in a manner allowing rotational movement. Not only is such a design cost-effective to produce, it also offers the advantage of particularly high functional reliability when dealing with the great amount of dirt to be expected during normal use. The handle can be affixed in such a sleeve by a clip connection, in which a portion of the one part projecting transversely to the longitudinal axis snaps into a groove of the other part.
Particularly easy slewability of the supporting body relative to the handle can be achieved if the supporting body and the handle are connected by a specially adapted swivel joint. In particular, the frictional forces occurring during a slewing motion can be considerably reduced by such an embodiment, making it easier to manipulate the floor-mopping device.
The turning range of the supporting body relative to the handle can be limited in at least one direction by providing the handle with a stop which can be forced into engagement with a counterstop of the supporting body. In this manner, undesired deflection movements of the mopping elements can be prevented during certain cleaning processes, for example, when cleaning the floor surface together with a baseboard laterally surrounding it.
In turn, other conditions exist when, for example, both the risers of a staircase and the floor surface are to be cleaned in one operation. To more easily be able to adapt the floor-mopping device to such frequently changing requirements, it has proven to be advantageous for the stop and/or the counterstop to be adjustable in the circumferential direction, or to be completely disengageable or removable as needed.
The swivel joint can be formed by a sleeve, fixed to the handle or the supporting body, which surrounds a journal of the supporting body or of the handle in at least one partial area. At the same time, the journal and/or the handle can be hollow to reduce the total weight.
It has proven to be advantageous if the handle is able to be brought closer to the supporting body against the force of a spring, such an approach permitting a releasable anti-rotation element to be engaged or actuated, the anti-rotation element being arranged between the sleeve and the journal, and temporarily suppressing the slewing capacity. Such a requirement may exist, for example, if one only wishes to suppress rotation of the supporting body relative to the handle during forward movements of the floor-mopping device, while allowing rotation during all other movements. For example, surface areas underneath cabinets or projections, which are difficult to access, can thus be reached more easily with the mopping elements. In contrast, when withdrawing the floor-mopping device, the anti-rotation element is automatically put out of operation, allowing the supporting body and the mopping elements to optimally align again with the surface to be cleaned. The anti-rotation element engages and disengages automatically. In this respect, its availability represents a great help during normal use of the floor-mopping device.
For marketing reasons, it is sometimes desirable to be able to offer the parts of the floor-mopping device which are subject to wear and tear, independently of the other parts. From this standpoint, it has proven to be advantageous if the swivel joint forms a component of the handle and is detachably secured to the supporting body.
If, as a result of the dirt load to be expected during normal use, the relative moveability in the region of the swivel joint may be impaired, it is possible to replace it, along with the supporting body and the mopping elements, as needed. In such cases, the swivel joint should form a component of the supporting body and be detachably secured to the handle.
The swivel joint can also be composed of two relatively twistable components, separable from each other, which, on one hand, are secured to the supporting body and, on the other hand, to the handle. This offers the possibility of not only cleaning the functional parts of the swivel joint after separating them, thus eliminating impairment of functioning caused by dirt, but also of replacing one of the functional parts with a new one when replacing the supporting body including the attached mopping elements. Thus, it is possible to satisfy the user""s interest in always having available an inexpensive floor-mopping device, characterized by particularly high functional reliability.
If desired, it is, of course, also possible to use a swivel joint which is contained in an adapter that can be detachably secured both to the supporting body and to the handle. In such an embodiment, the different functions of the swivel joint can be optimized without having to expect any disturbing wear and tear over a foreseeable period of time. Therefore, such an embodiment is particularly preferred for professional applications.